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It’s the most famous abdomen in Philadelphia, probably the entire NFL. Now a well-respected doctor has chimed in.
DeSean Jackson’s timeline for a return keeps getting pushed further and further back. The Eagles receiver hasn’t practiced since Week 2 after initially being diagnosed with a groin injury. That diagnosis was later changed to an abdomen issue and Jackson has been week-to-week ever since. He has been ruled out for this week’s game in Minnesota, with the team’s Oct. 20 showdown against Dallas now seeming like a longshot.
Dr. David J. Chao, an orthopedic surgeon who consults with several NFL teams on soft-tissue injuries, wrote a column for the San Diego Union-Tribune and speculated that Jackson has been playing through a core muscle injury.
He pointed to a recent Instagram video posted by Jackson as “overwhelming evidence” that the 32-year-old should seek surgery to repair an apparent sports hernia. The timetable for a return from a surgical procedure is at least six weeks. It should be noted that Dr. Chao has not actually examined Jackson.
Jackson flew in some of his medical support team from California and posted on Instagram a video showing them working on his right groin.
I have been hinting for weeks about a potential core muscle issue, and the evidence now seems overwhelming.
Obviously, I have not examined Jackson. However, the combination of reports of the issue being the groin and lower abdomen and this pattern of injury means he has a core muscle injury (sports hernia or athletic pubalgia).
Jackson Flew Long-Time Trainer to Philadelphia
DeSean Jackson flew in his long-time trainer from Southern California to assist in his rehab from an abdominal strain. According to The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane, Gary Cablayan arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday to help Jackson get back on the field. He specializes in training Olympic-level sprinters and has worked with the speedy receiver for 25 years.
“He’s feeling like he can move now,” Cablayan told McLane, “so it’s just trying to get back up to some faster speeds and getting his body ready. It’s just giving him that confidence with me here. When you have that much history, there’s a comfort in what that person brings to the table, that knows your body.”
Meanwhile, Jackson remains quiet on the matter. He has been posting some motivational messages on Instagram while sharing a video showing his legs and abdominal muscles being stretched out. He has missed practice all week along with 17 games due to injury over the last five seasons. The Eagles have certainly felt the effects of the speedster’s absence. Without their deep threat, the offense has stalled and mustered just 189 passing yards last week.
“I’m not familiar with the injury that he has,” Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said, “but I would think with a guy like DeSean who’s a track guy, he’s a runner, obviously he has to have a level of comfort with that injury. All the stopping and starting and things of that nature.”
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